Monday, March 19, 2012

Russian troops reportedly arrive in Syria

Russian anti-terror troops have arrived in Syria, despite the Assad regime’s insistence that outside nations not involve themselves in the ongoing bloodshed. United Nations security experts say the Russian troops might be there as a show of support to Assad. Russia has blocked repeated attempts by the U.N. Security Council to take action to stop the violence in Syria. Last week, Russian leaders said they did not have plans to send troops to Syria, but the Iman, a ship in the Russian Black Sea fleet, has docked at Tartus, a Syrian port on the Mediterranean Sea with Marines on board. The Russian government sells billions of dollars worth of military weaponry to Syria and has a close relationship with dictator Bashar al-Assad.

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A Russian ship carrying marines anchors at Tartus, Syria
DEBKAfile March 19, 2012, 6:00 PM (GMT+02:00)
Two Russian naval vessels have anchored at the Syrian port of Tartus, Russian Black Sea headquarters at Sevastopol reports. Their mission and identifies were not disclosed, excepting that one was carrying a unit of “anit-terrorist marines” and the other, a military tanker which joined "a Russian naval reconnaissance and surveillance ship already tied up in Tartus."